ADDICTION AND RECOVERY UPDATES

LET’S TALK ABOUT….RECOVERY AND TREATMENT UPDATES!!! To keep you up-to-date with what is going on in the field of recovery and treatment I offer you these facts:

DO DRUG ABUSERS FULLY RECOVER?

There are many variables to project full recovery: type of drugs used, the quality and quantity used, the environment used in, and the length of use.  My belief is that no one really totally recovers; the experience in itself will forever change the person using, their family, and other loved ones.

Now we are learning that Fentanyl overdoses, (Ask MAx, 040716) “… Fentanyl is so potent it only takes minutes without breathing and they’ve got brain complications..”. says Dr. Del Dorscheid, St. Paul’s Hospital, Vancouver. He said that he is seeing “more and more brain injuries caused by overdoses. He estimates up to 90% of his overdose cases suffer from brain minor injury to complete loss of brain function.

Consequently, even when a drug abuser commits to never using again, they will never be the same. Also, as the numbers rise, more up-to-date approaches to addiction recovery need to be included in treatment approaches that will address the brain injuries.

WARNING ABOUT CARFENTANIL!

Carfentanil, a drug never intended for human use, with a potency 10,000 times that of morphine, used as a sedative for large animals, like elephants, and cut into heroin and other street drugs, is becoming more prevalent.

The National Institute of Drug Abuse (NIDA) published a nationwide warning from the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) about human use of the opioid sedative carfentanil underscoring its danger.

As previously discussed in this column, the DEA had cautioned that emergency first responders must wear hazmat gear when approaching an overdose body in a known carfentanil area as it can be lethal if inhaled, or, if absorbed through the skin.

Imagine having to identify a loved one’s body wearing a hazmat suit!?

GAMBLING: HIGHLY UNDERRATED ADDICTION

Results of serious research into the connection of substance abuse disorders and gambling disorders are starting to surface.

Gambling is as insidious as any substance abuse disorder. Gambling disorders destroy individuals and families.

The National Gambling Impact Study Commission found that 2.7% of American adults have a gambling problem.

Gambling Disorders are recognized in the official Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM–5) defined as “Persistent and recurrent problematic gambling behavior leading to clinically significant impairment or distress…”

Professional observations of my own clients over a 15 year period indicate that compulsive gambling is like the “default” addiction during early recovery, particularly among clients that are on prescribed maintenance drugs, like methadone.

Early studies by Seth Himeloch, MD, MPH, University of Maryland, has suggested that people who are on maintenance treatment are “…over 8 times more likely to be using opioids during methadone treatment…” Dr. Himeloch research provides new diagnostic tools to address this possible co-occurring problem.

Thanks to the turn of the 20th century insights by Dr. William D. Silkworth, Towns Hospital, NY, proclaiming addiction a “disease”, and, the ongoing research through the 21st century, that identified all addictions as a “disease of the brain”, we continue to discover new ways to treat people with addiction disorders. That’s progress to support!

Glad we talked about this. Of course, it is just my opinion.

This column is reprinted from the Springfield Times (SpringfieldTimes.net) weekly column "Ask MAx". The Springfield Times is published weekly for Thursday delivery. Subscribe at 541-741-7368.

You can comment on this article and make suggestions for future columns: maxfabry@LifestyleChangesCounseling.com. Or, snail mail your topics to Lifestyle Changes, PO Box 1962, Eugene, OR  97440.